


Will You Stay Here While the Rain Falls?

by darkbitchithic (Petalbounce)



Category: Dark (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25893214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petalbounce/pseuds/darkbitchithic
Summary: Bartosz has been struggling with getting to know people at college, still hung up on Winden. But one day a certain Silja happens to sit as his table and suddenly, the future seems a whole lot brighter.Still Unbeta'd, will be edited soon though!
Relationships: Bartosz Tiedemann/Silja Tiedemann, Jonas Kahnwald/Martha Nielsen, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Will You Stay Here While the Rain Falls?

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU with no time travel! None of our characters are related - Jonas’s dad is Woller and Silja is simply someone from out of town. No sus relationships here :) (Also I love the Eva version of Bartosz with my entire heart so this Bartosz will most definitely be more like his Eva counterpart)

Bartosz sprinted through the rain towards the coffee shop, throwing open the door to try and escape the downpour. The calm coffee shop was a sudden change from the freezing downpour outside but Bartosz was more than glad of it. He hated the rain - had never understood the people who loved to curl up inside during a rainstorm. The rain was good for nothing as far as he was concerned - serving to absolutely drench his favorite coat and endanger his textbooks that he paid way too much for. 

It was his second year of college and already Bartosz was more than done with the whole situation. The endless studying, the long boring lectures, the whole lot of it. Sure he enjoyed a good book, but only books that he was able to choose. The Mechanical Engineering textbooks thrown at him by professors weren't exactly ideal reading. Scanning the shop, Bartosz quickly made his way to the empty table in the corner where he set his bag down and assured himself that his laptop had remained undamaged. He quickly ordered his favorite espresso and settled into the plush chair to start studying. 

The hours crawled by slowly and Bartosz eventually shifted to a warm black tea blend that his roommate had recommended to him. He might complain about the coursework, but he actually loved Mechanical Engineering. The work was heavy enough that he wasn’t able to spend too much time bored, plus it gave him a convenient excuse to not return back to Winden.

Where his best friends lived. 

Where Martha lived. 

He had long since given her up - her and Jonas had been thick as thieves since all three of them had begun highschool and besides, who was he to stand in the way of young love? Regardless, Bartosz couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable around them whenever they got all… coupley. Martha had been his first major crush - the first girl he had ever even seen himself with. She had been his first kiss, his first relationship, his first girlfriend. And when she had broken up with him to get with his best friend Jonas? He couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt, but he tried to get over it as fast as he could. It helped that Jonas and Martha had been entirely apologetic and honest with him once they had gotten together, and besides, Bartosz didn’t like to hold grudges.

But it weighed on him sometimes. He hadn’t been able to really connect with people in college, at least not in the way he had hoped. He was on good terms with his roommates and had a few casual acquaintances in his classes, but he hadn’t “blossomed” like his mom had been telling him he would. He never really grew out of his awkward, bookish frame and his hair seemed to always be exactly where he didn’t want it. Fashion wasn’t his strong suit and having grown up in such a tight-knit community, his conversation skills weren’t exactly stellar. But he was busy, and that was more than alright with him.

He was lost in thought when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. Startled out of his focus, Bartosz jumped slightly, quickly tearing his headphones out of his ears and looking up at the person who had just disturbed him. It took a second for his eyes to adjust from the bright screen of his laptop to the dim lighting of the coffee shop, but when they did the person he saw took his breath away. 

She had a round face, with full cheeks and large inviting eyes. Her soft, dark hair was twisted into a delicate style that framed her face perfectly. But what he noticed immediately was the light, slightly raised scar that stretched across her face. It began near her temples and reached all the way to her jaw, arching over her nose. There was a soft, hesitant smile on her face that let him see where the scar had torn at her muscle, enhancing its appearance on her face. 

And she was possibly the most beautiful woman he had seen in his entire life. 

“Come again?” He had completely missed her question and he saw her smirk wider at his surprised state. 

“I was wondering if I could sit here - all the other tables are taken and I really need to catch up on my coursework.”

Her voice was soft but firm, a warm sound that seemed to echo in the little coffee shop. His throat was suddenly dry so he shot out a quick affirmative and gestured to the empty seat in front of him, “Go for it.”

An even bigger smile lit up her face as she carelessly tossed her messenger bag onto the table, grabbing her wallet and immediately heading for the line at the counter. Still recovering, Bartosz tried to casually check his phone. A stray text from Jonas and a few song recommendations from Magnus but nothing that needed his immediate attention. So focused was he on his phone, Bartosz was once again shocked by the girl as she abruptly dropped into the chair across from him with a massive, steaming cup clutched between her hands. 

“I’ll be here a while so I might as well introduce myself, my name is Silja.”

She stretched a hand towards Bartosz and he quickly dropped his phone to reach to shake it, “Bartosz Tiedemann, the pleasure is mine.”

She had a strong calloused grip, one that even further endeared her to him as he tried to recover from her presence at his table. He shot her a nervous smile as he released his hand, quickly mourning the loss of her touch. Clearing his throat slightly, Bartosz moved to put his headphones in.

“What are you studying for?” She asked, aimlessly flipping through the pages of her textbook and pulling out a worn composition book.

“Just some upcoming finals - I took way too many hours this semester and am definitely paying the price. What about yourself?”

She shot a wink at him, “Oh I haven’t actually read a single chapter of any of my textbooks this whole semester, so I figured there's no better time to start than the present, you know?”

Bartosz’s jaw dropped slightly, processing the information she had just given him. Sputtering, he tried to clarify, “Not a single chapter?”

“Nope!” She grinned wickedly, a toothy smile that lit up her entire face. She seemed completely unrepentant and without an ounce of remorse. 

“What’s your major?”

“Oh I’m in the English department - I’m going for a literature specialization right now.”

He desperately tried to understand what she was telling him - and English major who refused to read her textbooks - surely she was teasing him. His eyes focused on the massive textbook in front of her and tried to read the title - something about ancient European literature that completely escaped him. She saw his eyes shift and let out a barking laugh, startling him enough that his eyes shot up to hers. 

“Honestly you would be surprised how many English majors barely do any of the reading. I like classics and all but I find the historical stuff absolutely horrible - dry as a bone and absolutely impossible to enjoy. I can’t believe that Professor…” she began, continuing to rattle on about the audacity of certain professors and how unreasonable the assigned reading was. Bartosz felt lulled by her voice, switching between catching quick bursts of her monologue and listening to the musical rhythm of her narrative. By the time she stopped to sip her rapidly cooling drink, Bartosz was well and truly charmed. 

They continued on in this way, with Silja rambling about anything from her courses to her job at a local farm and Bartosz interjecting occasionally with laughter or questions. They both forgot their studying and by the time the rain cleared and the sun began to set, at least two hours had passed. 

Silja was mid-story (something about one of her coworkers breaking one of the tractors by trying to get it to perform a trick in one of the barren fields) when suddenly an alarm on her phone started ringing. Startled, she rushed to silence it before swearing under her breath.

“I’m so sorry to run but I can’t miss another one of my night classes - I have too many absences already. Thanks for sitting with me though - if you ever need a study partner feel free to shoot me a text sometime, I’d love to chat more.”

She quickly scribbled down a phone number on a page of her (still empty) composition book and ripped it out, passing it to him before shoveling her books into her bag and standing up. Silja shot him a cheerful grin and a wave before bolting out of the coffee shop into the dusk. It was all Bartosz could do to sit there, dazed from the whole encounter. A smile slowly grew on his face as he thought about her - about Silja. He picked up the torn paper and read the number.

Right beside it, she had doodled a quick little heart with an arrow through it. His own heart sped up slightly and he shot the new number a quick text, telling her he hoped she would enjoy her class. She sent a string of cheerful emojis back in response, and Bartosz couldn’t even bring himself to regret the studying time lost by their conversation. He made his way to the counter to get a new drink and settled in to resume his studying, but it was hard to focus without his mind drifting. 

He barely knew her, the logical side of his mind told him, it does you no good getting attached to someone this quickly. But the logical side of his mind be damned. He readjusted his shoulders as he clicked on one of the study modules his professor had emailed out, a small smile still stuck on his face. All of the sudden, college didn’t seem quite so lonely anymore, and the future looked an awful lot brighter. 

  
  


[][][][]

Silja darted into the coffee shop and slammed the door shut behind her. The shop was packed, filled with panicked students and tired professors alike. She desperately needed to get some last minute studying in before her night class but that looked increasingly less likely. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to figure out the best place to sit.

_Nope, too old,_ She thought to herself, assessing the people who were taking up all of the seats 

_Nope, definitely too emotional,_

_Oh no way too young,_

_Wait,_

_Who is that?_

Her eyes caught on a young man, lean and focused on whatever he was reading on his screen. She couldn’t see much with his back to her, but he seemed nice (and nonthreatening) enough. She strode over to him and tapped on his shoulder, silently appreciating his profile before he turned. He seemed startled by her presence, almost like a deer.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Come again?”

She couldn’t help but laugh to herself, he seemed completely thrown for a loop - guess he didn’t get out much. She took a quick second to appreciate his face - soft lips and strong eyebrows, all framed by one hell of a jawline. Definitely the right table to sit at.

“I was wondering if I could sit here - all the other tables are taken and I really need to catch up on my coursework.”

She waited for him to approve before tossing her stuff to her new seat and ordering a coffee. He seemed nice, and hey, he was cute.

By the time the alarm on her phone had gone off, she had completely lost track of time. Bartosz (what a name - and definitely one he wore well) was a damn good listener and he seemed to really enjoy talking with her. He blushed prettily too, which didn’t hurt any. She silently cursed herself for skipping so many classes earlier in the semester so she couldn’t stick around longer and talk to him more. Oh well. She quickly jotted down her phone number, pausing slightly before sketching a quick heart. There. Now the ball was in his court, but she sure hoped he would message her sometime. His smile was definitely one she could get used to. She made her way to the door and cast a final glance his way. His back was to her, but she smiled nonetheless. Oh yes, she could definitely get used to Bartosz Tiedemann. 


End file.
